Hunters score long-shot PA elk
Hunters score long-shot PA elk
By Tyler Frantz
The odds of drawing a Pennsylvania elk tag are slim. Of approximately 27,000 applicants last year, only 124 hunters were drawn for the opportunity to pursue the large cervids. Of those lucky hunters, ninety-seven harvested elk, taking 24 bulls and 73 cows from the herd.
Myerstown hunter Thad Krow had applied for the elk lottery eight or nine years going into the 2016 season, save for the few he missed while deployed overseas. Though he typically watched the live-streamed drawing online, last year’s news came via cell phone when he received an unexpected call from Jersey Shore. “Right away, I thought maybe it was the Game Commission, and sure enough, it was them,” Krow said. “I was told I got selected for a cow in Zone 2, so I immediately started calling and texting everyone. Through a friend, I met John Buckwalter, who has a cabin in Cameron County and said he would be willing to take me out for a cow. I think he was just as excited as I was.”
Krow met with Buckwalter prior to the season, and the two did a bit of scouting to prepare for opening day. They kept a close eye on the local herd and felt quite optimistic about sealing the deal when the season opened October 31st.
Opening morning began near a Game Commission turnip plot, and action was heavy from the start. Krow saw two small bulls feeding at first light and soon heard more bugling in the distance.
“John said we should make our way to where the bulls were bugling and try to cut off the herd,” Krow explained. We slowly made our way to the top of the ridge in a large stand of pines, when a nearby shot rang out.”
“We could see elk running all through the pines. John told me to push up higher, where I saw an elk but it ended up being a calf so I passed on it. Moving further up the hill, I had another elk come into an opening, but it turned out to be a spike bull. As I continued my climb, a cow finally gave me a wide-open shot 50 yards away. I squeezed the trigger of my 338 Win-Mag, and she dropped in her tracks.”
After some celebrating, the work began in marking the kill site, collecting PGC-required samples, and field dressing the cow. But getting an adult elk back to the truck over a mile away would require some help. Krow hired a local draft horse operator, who typically uses his team for logging, to pull his elk out on a plastic sled. Then, they headed to John’s friend’s place to skin and salt the hide for tanning before taking what the Game Commission needed for their studies to the check station.
“The whole experience was something I will never forget,” Krow said. “I encourage everyone to put in for this hunt. It is the closest place anyone will have a chance to shoot an elk.”
Another hunter, Tracey Kauffman, of Bethel, made good on her opportunity to take a cow elk in Cameron County’s Elk Zone 9.
“I only had three preference points, so I was very surprised and excited to receive the call that I was drawn for a tag,” Kauffman said. “A few different people recommended Bill May of Quehanna Outfitters, and that is who I got for a guide. I was very pleased with their service and was able to get my elk on the first afternoon.”
“It was a hunt I will never forget, and the best part was, I was able to experience it all with my husband Erik,” Kauffman added.
Though preference points (extra chances accrued for each year’s unsuccessful application) improve a hunter’s odds of getting drawn, Auburn’s Derek Reber proved it could be done with only one name in the hat.
“I was really shocked when I got the call,” Reber said in learning he was one of just 25 hunters drawn for a bull tag. “It was an honor because it was the first time I ever entered. It was ridiculous luck that I got picked.”
Reber needed even more luck to be successful, because he was assigned to perhaps the toughest area in the state, Elk Zone 9, which is comprised almost entirely of private ground and only offered two bull tags. Regardless, he linked up with Elk Country Outfitters guide service to make the most of his situation.
Despite limited hunting access, and a rollercoaster ride of close calls leading to lost opportunities, Derek was able to seal the deal on the third day by harvesting a respectable young bull with his brother David by his side.
“I never thought I would get a tag, so I knew this was the chance of a lifetime- one that all Pennsylvania hunters dream about,” Reber said. “I felt like I couldn’t mess it up, so when a good bull showed himself, I took him. I lived the PA hunter’s dream, and it was an awesome experience.”
Without a doubt, harvesting a Pennsylvania elk belongs at the top of many a hunter’s bucket-list, but it takes a stroke of luck to even get the chance to hunt one. Regardless, the lucky tag holders from the 2016 elk lottery can testify that, even in a low-odds game, sometimes when you roll the dice, you win.
0 Response to "Hunters score long-shot PA elk"
Post a Comment